Vitamin B5 is also known as Pantothenic Acid. Vitamin B5 can be found in abundance in many different types of food. It's also one of the most beneficial vitamins you can take. Because Vitamin B5 is found in such abundance, it's simply impossible to not get enough of it. That means that there is little possibility that a person can have a B5 vitamin deficiency. Because of this, there's no established recommended daily amount of Vitamin B5. Although there has never been a need to calculate a recommended daily allowance for it, Vitamin B5 is vital for a healthy body and mind.

Vitamin B5 is essential for turning food, mainly fats and carbohydrates, into energy.

Some amount of Vitamin B5 can be found in nearly every food whether it is animal or vegetable. Some sources of Vitamin B5 are definitely better than others, but a balanced diet will provide more than enough. Vitamin B5 is not produced or stored naturally in our bodies so you have to get it either from vitamin supplements or foods such as whole grain cereals, beans, poultry, lean meat, and fish. It's important to know that the milling process that turns whole grain into flour causes Vitamin B5 to be lost. As a result, bread, pasta, rice, most breakfast cereals, and baked goods are not a sufficient source of B5.

Combining Vitamin B5 with several other B Vitamins yields the best results. The combination of Vitamin B5 with Thiamin (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), and Pyridoxine (B6) seems to be the most effective. Along with these other B vitamins, Vitamin B5 is an integral part of a number of processes. Probably the most important of these functions is the process of converting food into energy to be used by the body. This is known as the Kreb's Cycle. By definition, the Kreb's cycle is part of a metabolic pathway involved in the chemical conversion of carbohydrates, fats and proteins into carbon dioxide and water to generate a form of usable energy. Vitamin B5 is essential to this process.

As a side note, it's important to know that Vitamin B5 is also helpful in the reduction of stress. Because of these stress relieving properties, Vitamin B5 is sometimes referred to as the "anti-stress vitamin". The basics of how this vitamin helps with stress reduction deal with the production of stress reducing hormones by the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands produce adrenaline and cortisol, and Vitamin B5, along with Folic Acid (B9) and Vitamin C are necessary for the adrenal glands to function properly.

As a final note about this vitamin, it has been shown to help with the removal of toxins from the body.

Most of us have no problem getting all the B5 we need from the food we eat, so there's no need to panic. If you want to take supplements, go for it! Taking extra Vitamin B5 has never been shown to be harmful.